NHL Mid-Season Grades: Central Division Breakdown

Minnesota Wild

Current Record: 28-9-5 (61 points)

Forwards: A

What happens when everything comes together just as it should? Well, you get what we’re seeing out of the Wild in 2016-17. Looking back, Minnesota had an issue at center that couldn’t be filled by Mikael Granlund or Charlie Coyle. They were eventually shifted to wing in hopes that less responsibility would spark more offense. It didn’t work out in 2015-16, but the pieces are all starting to fit perfectly together. Free agent Eric Staal has been an absolute revelation having already matched his career-low of 39 points in 2015-16. Funny thing is, he still another 40 games to play. At the same time, both Granlund and Coyle have been exceptional on the wing. It allows the Wild to spread out their offense (i.e. sliding Nino Niederreiter and Jason Pominville to the third line), giving them three legitimate lines that can find the back of the net.

Defense: B+

has arguably been the top defensive pairing in the NHL so far. Suter was having a Norris worthy campaign until hitting a recent slump, but he could still finish the year off strong and garner some consideration. Spurgeon, on the other hand, is one of the most unsung heroes in the league. When you hear the phrase, going about his business quietly but effectively, that describes Jared fairly well.

Looking at the rest of the group, Matt Dumba continues to show improvement on both sides of the puck. Christian Folin has looked outstanding. You’d probably like to see a little more from both Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella, though. It’s interesting, both of these guys were pegged as prime targets in the expansion draft, and both have underwhelmed. Wonder if that’s crossed their minds at all?

Goalies: A+

Everyone seems to be drawn towards Carey Price when it comes to Vezina voting, almost as if it’s a given that he wins in. Well, hopefully the past week or so has been an eye opener for those folks as Carey showed his human side with a few rough starts. I’ve been saying it for a couple of months now, and I’ll say it again, Devan Dubnyk is your Vezina winner at this point, and unless he hits a serious rut down the stretch, it’ll be hard to knock him off the pedestal. Heck, you might argue that Sergei Bobrovsky is making a better case to challenge Dubynk that Price is.

Biggest surprise: G Devan Dubnyk

Biggest letdown: F Jason Pominville – $5.6 million dollars/year for 18 points in 42 games. Coming off 36 points in 2015-16, a season where it took him over two months to score his first goal.

Outlook:

Given the success in 2016-17, the time is now for Minnesota to start pulling the trigger on last-minute acquisitions to help for a stretch run. Even if it means adding a few smaller pieces at the deadline, that might be all the team needs. Keeping atop the division should be of vital importance moving forward though. With a strong Central and lousy playoff format that forces two top teams to face one another in the opening round, a division win can be key for a deep run.

Prediction for Remainder of Season:

While I still expect the Minnesota Wild to put together a solid record, it would seem very much like this team to give up that top spot, probably finish second in the Central. If that’s the case, they’ll need to knock off one of Chicago or St. Louis most likely. That’s a good way to get worn down before you even have a chance to make some noise.

Nashville Predators

Current Record: 20-16-7 (47 points)

Forwards: B-

The Preds are having a rough go of things in 2016-17. In all fairness, they’ve faced a ton of adversity through injuries, but still, there’s nothing to leads to believe this team is ready to get over that elusive hump in the postseason. Their forward group has arguably been the strongest point so far, although that’s not saying a whole lot. Only four forwards have 10 or more goals, and several guys who were expected to contribute more are still struggling to find the scoresheet. They’ll need players such as Calle Jarnkrok, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson (IR), and Kevin Fiala (among others) to step up over the second half if Nashville wants people to take them seriously.

Defense: C+

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Union and Blue

Here’s a group that some expected to emerge as the league’s best in 2016-17. GM David Poile rolled the dice bringing in P.K. Subban, essentially constructing an offensive juggernaut on the blue line. Unfortunately, the Preds haven’t managed to keep the group healthy for long enough to see what they truly have. At this point, it seems like a failed experiment, but there’s still a lot of time to right the ship.

Goalies: B-

Don’t let the B- fool you, it has less to do with Pekka Rinne and a lot more to do with Juuse Saros emerging as a quality no.2 option. On the surface, a 2.40GAA and .920 save percentage seems like an outstanding start for Pekka Rinne. Unfortunately, it’s been a nasty roller coaster ride going from hot-to-cold in a vicious cycle. The Preds will need their elite Finnish netminder to find some stability over the second half because there’s no way Saros can maintain a 1.25GAA and .957 save percentage.

Biggest surprise: Emergence of D Matt Irwin, G Juuse Saros

Biggest letdown: Inconsistency of Pekka Rinne, Constant Injuries Throughout the Roster

Outlook:

If the Predators can get lucky and find a nice healthy stretch, they’ve certainly got the talent to secure one of those final Wild-Card spots. Nashville might be wise to see if they can add a little depth up front ahead of the deadline and hope they catch fire at the right time so they can carry some momentum into the postseason.

Prediction for Remainder of Season:

I’m making a very bold prediction that Nashville narrowly misses out on the playoffs. Similar to LA in 2015-16, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Preds find themselves picking 13th or 14th in June’s Draft.